1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an e-mail (i.e., electronic mail) sending and receiving system for providing a variety of services to addressers and addressees, by automatically adding positional data of any place to e-mail.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, services for providing map images, in which a map image database is provided in a server on the Internet, and is searched by using key words such as an address, postal code, station name, spot (or location) name or the like, so as to provide a map image around a target position coordinate, are known. The user can obtain a map image of a desired place by inputting the key words such as an address, postal code, station name, spot name (i.e., the name of position) or the like, by using a WWW (world wide Web) browser.
Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 11-259390 (Nakano et al.) provides an e-mail system and method that composes an e-mail information including a map information and transmitting the e-mail information. At a transmitting-side of terminal, a user obtains a map image data of a desirable point by connecting to a map information provision system and inputs an arbitrary-manually-scripted information onto the obtained map image data. The obtained map image data with the inputted scripted information is then complied to compose new image data. Consequently, the transmitting-side of terminal transmits an e-mail information including the map image data with the manual script of a document data to a mail server of a recipient.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication, No. Hei 11-53278 discloses a system in which if an e-mail message to be sent includes an address or the like, a map image database is automatically searched using the address as a key word, and the URL for viewing a map image is included in the e-mail, and then the e-mail is sent.
However, in the above-explained conventional techniques, data about only one place can be included in an e-mail message, and data of a plurality of places cannot be included. It is extremely inconvenient. Additionally, in the conventional techniques, the addressee can only view and print a Web page according to the sent data. Therefore, it is also inconvenient. In addition, only the URL of a map image and the text data input by the user can be included in the text of e-mail, so that data to be transmitted may be insufficient.
Also in the conventional techniques, data which the addressee can refer to is limited to the text of the e-mail (input by the addresser) and the Web page via the WWW browser. Furthermore, the e-mail is sent using a single format, so that the e-mail cannot be shown on a device such as a car navigation system which receives e-mail using another format. Therefore, it is also inconvenient.